Ecuador6 Feb 2024 07:54
Appreciate the input from our Ecuadorean resident very much.
This is an article I was reading this morning….. wondered if it’s truly reflective of the mood on the ground.
“QUITO, Ecuador -- Not long after I posted my first picture from Quito on Facebook, the comment I was expecting came in: "Isn't Ecuador blowing up right now?"
Hardly, I thought, slightly amused as I sat in my room in the historical Casa Gangotena hotel here, listening to children gleefully chasing pigeons and puppies in the plaza outside my open window.
No, the recent eruption of cartel-related violence in the country's port city of Guayaquil isn't funny. But traveling last week in Ecuador's interior revealed a situation markedly different from the sensational headlines about the state of emergency that was declared after a cartel leader escaped from prison and his supporters seized temporary control of a Guayaquil television station three weeks ago.
While much of the country, which is unaccustomed to such brazen and public gang violence, went into a self-imposed lockdown and a few cruises were canceled or altered in the initial days after the attacks, life outside of Guayaquil last week felt just as safe and friendly as when I was here two years ago.
Quito's Old Town had the same serene vibe, with mestizo women lining the sidewalks to sell fresh fruits and vegetables; residents crowding in to get herbs and cleansing treatments from their favorite curanderas; and tourists and residents enjoying a sunny day in the park in front of the presidential palace.
To the south, in the city of Cuenca, Sunday crowds filled churches, outdoor markets and rooftop cafes. And come Monday morning, the streets were bustling with business as usual.
Noticeably missing: the military. While the president declared a state of emergency so he could call up soldiers to battle the gangs, there was little military presence outside of Guayaquil. And it was certainly nothing like the regular patrols one sees on Mexico's beaches and across that cartel-plagued country's resort towns.
In fact, during a week here in January hosted by Metropolitan Touring, traveling between Quito, the private rainforest reserve of Mashpi and Cuenca, I saw only two small groups of soldiers walking in Quito. And there was no visible military presence at either the Quito or Cuenca airports”
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